Housing
The upper to middle class in Istanbul live in apartments, but there is a growing movement where is moving out of the city because of the overcrowding. Most apartments have 4 or 5 rooms, which include dining rooms, living rooms, bathrooms, and bed rooms. Apartments usually have a wide variety of furniture and the exterior is usually painted in bright colors. Rent is very high in Istanbul with few people owning apartments, with actually getting your own apartment being a huge sign of success. On the other side there are lots poorly made houses on the edges of Istanbul, mostly housing poor migrants.
A picture of a poorer part of Istanbul. Vincent_AF, Packed Houses in Istanbul, Flicker.web
Transportation
Public transportation is very big in Istanbul with over 5 million people using the different forms of transportation every day. To use the various forms of transportation you can get a card called a Istanbulkart, which you put money into to pay for the metro or bus fare. The metro system is mostly used for the more new parts of the city, but it still goes everywhere from the airport to the shore to cross to the asian side of Istanbul. The tram is used a lot in old parts of Istanbul and is a great way to avoid traffic and stops at many tourist attractions. There is also a large system of train tracks from east to west of Istanbul which are great for public transport. Currently long distance train travel is not available due to construction of even more routes. There are also many bus stations around the city, which stop at all major domestic locations. The Istanbul airport is 20 kms west of the city and has stops all around the world.
A picture of a modern train in Istanbul. Trams in Istanbul, Wikipedia.web